EU foreign ministers yesterday gave strong and united support to the demands made by the international Contact Group on the Belgrade government of President Slobodan Milosevic over Kosovo. But this morning's informal meeting is likely to see a bitter and escalating row over Cyprus accession, threatening the EU's enlargement process.
Ministers backed mediation efforts by the former Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Felipe Gonzalez, on behalf of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and will ask him to represent the EU, too. They also backed the call from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, for a mission from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson.
The British Foreign Secretary and President of the Council, Mr Robin Cook, said they were sending a strong message to Mr Milosevic on the need for meaningful dialogue with Kosovo's Albanian leadership: "We want to welcome Serbia into the family of the democratic nations of Europe but first of all Belgrade has got to start behaving like a modern European country."
But the ministers' message to the Albanian community was that there is a limit to their support. Mr Cook said they will support "increased autonomy" but not independence.
The EU is to increase its monitoring presence in Pristina and in neighbouring Albania and member states will work out the means to impose sanctions on Serbia if talks are not forthcoming by March 25th, the date set by the Contact group. Mr Andrews supported the idea of extending the remit of the International War Crimes Tribunal to Kosovo.
Ministers are today supposed to agree the text of a formal statement to be made by Mr Cook for the presidency at the opening of the enlargement negotiations on March 31st.
France wants Mr Cook to leave open the suspension of the Cyprus talks should it not be possible to persuade representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community to take part in them as part of an all-island delegation.
Greece is bitterly opposed to this approach, accusing other member states of allowing Ankara to dictate the terms of EU accession. Athens is threatening effectively to veto opening negotiations with the other five acceding countries.
But enlargement is hugely important to the other member states. Diplomats and officials are privately muttering that Greece is not a team player, should never have been admitted to the EU, and may pay a heavy price next time it comes looking for its support. On the Asian crisis, the ministers expressed relief that in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore the IMF medicine appears to be working, but fears that Indonesia's ambivalence to IMF advice would prolong its crisis.